Fallen Angel
by Peloton
Summary: Someone has stolen her past, so Jolie has come to steal the Scrolls from Professor X. Someone begins to move her mind away from her mission. Will she betray the Alliance, or her new found love at the school? Ah! the suspense! RnR plz (Finished)
1. Chapter 1

Jolie held a few crinkled dollars out to the man in the truck. He looked at it for a moment before he realized what it was. "No, no. It was no problem." He shook his hand at her offer. The trucks engine rattled loudly as it sat on the side of the road.

Jolie pushed her meager offering back into her pocket. "Thank you." She paused for a moment. It was hard for her to say that to any human anymore. But she had not grown beyond doing it yet, she was willing to accept kindness where she could find it, or when she was extremely desperate. She stepped away from the truck, he almost immediately drove off. She had noticed he had been uncomfortable with her the entire ride. Now she was left alone, on an empty street where only one streetlamp lit the area, there wasn't another light for miles in either direction. The snow had piled up on the sides of the roads, but fresher powder covered the road, leaving only the new tracks of her ride here as evidence that anyone had been here. She looked determinedly across the street, there was an iron gate, black and foreboding, she knew she needed to get past it.

Jolie shifted her shoulder blades slightly, a strange crunching noise was heard in the silence, her face grimaced slightly. Twin holes in the back of her winter coat twitched as though something were trying to poke through. She flexed her back a few more times before two white prongs emerged from the holes. They looked soft to the touch as they grew even longer, and whiter than the snow. As they grew longer they became wider as well, finally growing large enough to be identified as wings. Jolie flapped them experimentally before she adjusted her bag over her shoulders and lept into the air. Her wings caught the air beneath them and began to propel her both up and forward. She easily passed over the iron gate and followed the driveway that wound around below her. She could see maybe a mile ahead where the huge mansion lay, only a few decorative lights on outside. No one inside appeared to be awake. She quickened the pace of her wings and was there in moments.

Landing carefully she looked to see the best place to enter the mansion, there were the main doors to her right, but there was a smaller metal door to her left that looked as though it were used less often. She headed in that direction and produced a small leather pouch from her pocket; in it were a few small metal picks. She pulled two of them out and began to work at the small rounded handle. A small click made her smile; she replaced the leather pouch into her pocket and opened the door slowly. No alarms and no flashing lights hinted that she had been able to enter the mansion. She took her first few steps in tenuously; finally she relaxed as she inspected the interior. She had entered through a smaller hallway that fed into the main entryway. She took another step when she heard the rustle of clothing next to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" The voice was full of threat. Jolie held her breath before she jumped in an effort to fly, but she was caught by the neck abruptly and thrown against the wall. "I don't think so bub." Se felt the cold burning of steel slide past her neck, not penetrating, but fully able to at a moments notice.

She could barely see the outline of the captors face, his hair was untamed, and his face showed a rough outline of not having shaved recently. She struggled to get enough air through her constricted throat. She lifted one of her hands up to his face, her hand began to glow with its own electricity, a small ball of white light growing in her hand. She could see the look of confusion on the mans face.

"That will be enough Logan." Immediately the lights for the hallway came on. Her captor released his grip and she tumbled to the ground and gasped to catch her breath. She looked up to see a man in a wheelchair, apparently where this other voice had come from. Jolie noticed the man, apparently Logan, eyed her suspiciously still. She looked to her hand to see they still glowed with her own electric power. She let the power slowly fade until it was gone. Only then did Logan retract the long metal blades back into his knuckles.

"Hello Jolie." She looked back to the man who was sitting in the wheelchair, she noticed that when his chair moved it didn't seem to use the wheels but instead it glided just a hairs width above the ground. She wondered why he would know her name. "I'm Charles Xavier." He offered his hand as support to lift her from the ground. She took it more as a polite gesture but was surprised to find with what strength he lifted her. "Would you be so kind as to follow me?" Charles Xavier didn't wait for her to respond, but turned on his smooth chair and floated down the hallway.

Jolie looked around for any means of escape, or any choice other than to follow this man. But the look on Logan's face made her suspect that she would have no desire to do anything but follow. She managed to push her feet forward and she shuffled all the way to the large office that Xavier led her to. She recognized from one of the pictures that she had inspected before she was sent on her mission. The large wall of books seemed to hold particular interest to her, but she didn't let her gaze stray for too long. She sat down without waiting for an invitation on one of the plush couches. In reality she was much tired, and she could always wait to take what was needed. "What brings you to my school Jolie?" Xavier had seated himself on a large leather chair that sat behind his oak desk. His hands were folded neatly on the table, and his eyes seemed to be searching for something. Jolie avoided eye contact as best as she could, she didn't trust his gaze.

"Well Charles," She leaned back into the couch in an attempt to look nonchalant, but Logan grabbed her roughly by the scruff of the neck.

"That's Professor to you, punk." He glared down at her. Jolie realized very suddenly that Logan was not a man she wanted to be angry with her.

Xavier cleared his throat. "Perhaps Logan, you might leave us alone for a bit." His tone did not suggest that Logan would be aloud to say no. He looked from Xavier back to Jolie and snarled. He released his grip forcefully, leaving Jolie with a feeling of a rug burn on the back of her neck, before he walked out of the office and closed the door behind him. Xavier cleared his throat again to bring Jolie's attention back to himself.  
  
"I'd rather we be a bit more formal Ms. Mark." He smiled a little he returned to his questioning. "So, please tell me. Why have you come here?" Jolie thought about what had been said to her before she had come. She knew certain things prevented her tongue from revealing her plans.

She could think of no other lie on the spot, so she thought it was best to stick with the truth. "Professor," She started out, still feeling the stinging sensation on her neck. "The truth is I cannot tell you."

The Professor looked at her strangely, as though seeking into her very being. "I believe you." He spoke quietly as though coming to a revelation of something Jolie knew nothing about. "Can you say anything about it?" Jolie shook her head, she knew anything related to it, names, addresses, phone numbers, even favorite colors would not get past the tip of her tongue. "I see..." Xavier sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. "Do you think you would allow me to look into your mind for myself?" Jolie was a little surprised, she had been warned that there would be telepath's at the school, but she had not realized that the Professor had been one of them. She always imagined them to be tall and wiry, with long stringy hair. But the Professor was most certainly bald, and might have been tall, but no longer was that the case.

She nodded confidently, she knew her thoughts were also protected, she could see the brick wall in her mind now. He would search and he would find nothing, it was as simple as that. She saw him switch from the leather chair back to his wheelchair and glide over to where she was sitting. He placed both his hands at her temples but did not quite touch her skin. She felt a slight warmth spread over her body as the professor closed his eyes in deep concentration. But there was a sudden sharp pain in her forehead as she saw the professor cringe slightly. His teeth clenched and his fingers curled into fists as if he were fighting some sort of struggle. His strength finally broke and he cried out before collapsing out of his chair and onto the floor.

"Professor?" Jolie sat there, unsure of what had happened. The door suddenly flew open and Logan entered the room, his eyes widened as he saw the professor lying unconscious on the floor. He immediately looked to Jolie with an intense rage in them, he quickly closed the distance between them, his metal claws unsheathed. Jolie still sat, shaking now; stunned and unable to explain what had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

Logan glared at the girl, her long black hair had draped over her face and she was chewing her nails nervously. She was only of average height and weight, by no means any match for the professor. Xavier could stop anyone in their tracks with his mind alone, and the man held surprising strength in his arms. He could not understand how this girl had rendered Xavier unconscious.  
Logan had called Jean immediately; she was in the medical room inspecting Charles. Scott, Ororo, Kurt, and himself were all sitting around keeping a close eye on the girl. Jean came in through a side door that seemed to seamlessly fit with the wall. Scott and Logan both looked up immediately, she looked at though she had few answers.  
"I'm not sure what happened. His mind is blocked to me. His vital signs are normal though, I can only hope it'll pass." Her eyes lingered to Jolie. "Maybe if I could look at her."  
"No!" Jolie interrupted her suddenly, startling everyone. Logan had his hands out and ready if she were to try to escape again.  
"So it was you." Logan glared down at her, his voice a low growl. He had few loyalties to anyone, but Charles Xavier was one of the few who warranted his respect.  
Jolie shook her head, "No, I didn't mean to do it. It's something in my head." She shrunk into her seat as best she could. Her wings were crushed uncomfortably behind her, but she didn't want to make herself any more of a target than she already was.  
Jean stepped between Jolie and Logan. "What's in your head."  
"Don't look!" She held up her hands like that would prevent Jean from seeing into her mind. "I thought it would just block my thoughts, but I think it does something else..."  
"Can you tell us?" Ororo's tone was soothing, but Jolie just shook her head.  
"I can't, that's the point." Jolie didn't have any desire to answer their questions, but knew she lacked the ability to.  
Jean looked up suddenly, "Wait, it's the professor." She turned quickly and returned to the room where Professor Xavier was resting. The rest of them stood silently waiting, Jolie shifted in her chair so that her wings could move freely again. Flapping them once more she shifted her shoulders and the wings dropped off from her back.  
Scott actually jumped, eyeing her wearily from behind his dark glasses. The pair of wings fell to the floor and scattered into separate feathers. She picked up one of the feathers and held it out to Scott. "Phoenix wings, they grow back." The rest of the feathers on the floor began to burn until not even the ash was left. Scott was left holding the one feather still in his hand when Jean came back in the room.  
"The Professor is fine, he's awake." Everyone in the room visibly relaxed. "And he wants us to teach Jolie here."  
"What?" Logan seemed to think the idea was absurd. "Are we forgetting she was caught breaking into the school?"  
Ororo seemed to agree with Logan, "She obviously meant us some sort of harm. Can she be trusted?"  
Jean pursed her lips, "The Professor seems to think she can be." She looked directly at Jolie. "We need to trust his judgment." Jean motioned for Jolie to get up. "I'll lead you to a room."  
Jolie got up and followed Jean, eager to leave the room and the staring eyes behind her. She followed at a distance behind Jean, as they walked down the darkened hallways lights flashed on, lighting their path, but turning back off as soon as they were beyond them. Jean stopped and opened a simple wooden door revealing a small room inside. "There should be some spare clothing in that dresser. Someone will come to get you in the morning." Jean quickly turned and left Jolie alone in the room.  
Jolie quickly crossed the room to where a set of windows was, she tried pulling up on them but they were locked by some unseen manner. "So I am a prisoner." She muttered to herself, though it was not unexpected. But she was willing to wait, she felt her heart drumming, something in the professor's office was calling to her. She would bide her time until she could get at it.  
"The Professor said she's probably just a runaway. Someone's taken her under their wing to exploit her powers." Jean explained when she had returned to where Scott, Logan, and Ororo waited.  
"Does he suspect Magneto?" Scott was apprehensive; it had been a while since they had heard from their old nemesis.  
Jean just shook her head, "He says he doesn't know. All he can remember is that she's come for something. There was nothing else he could see."  
"Well if what she wants is here why do we not send her away? Certainly if it were something we were willing to give away she wouldn't need to come and steal it." Ororo did not like the idea of this girl staying so close to her proximity.  
"No, she's programmed. She'd just return, maybe she'd be successful, maybe we'd end up hurting her. Xavier says she is weak and she needs our help." Jean tried to voice Xavier's concerns. "Her own mind has been turned against her. She should not have these restrictions; she chooses to have them because somehow she has been convinced to do so."  
"So we're to teach her?" Scott asked, still not sure of what he thought of the matter.  
Jean nodded, leaning into Scott for comfort. "He thinks she can be helped."  
Logan shifted his eyes away from where Jean and Scott stood. Jealousy burned slightly as he watched Scott rub Jean's shoulders reassuringly. "Alright, but I'm keeping an eye on her." He grumbled. Turning quickly he left the room. Ororo quickly followed, leaving Jean and Scott on their own.  
  
"What do you think she was after?" Scott asked. Jean turned around to face him and laid her head on his shoulder.  
"I don't know Scott, I really don't know, but..." She hesitated, looking up at him again. "I sensed death, so much death on her. Whatever it is, it isn't good." She nestled herself back into his strong grip and just let him hold her for a while. 


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks Pendragon4 and Xcoolcomic for the reviews! I really appreciate it!  
  
Jolie rolled over in the soft bed, it had been by far the most comfortable thing she had ever slept on, but still she had trouble getting to sleep. She could feel the scrolls tugging at her, but she knew she couldn't seek them. Not yet, she would wait it out until she had found some safe way to retrieve them and escape. It felt like she had finally dozed off when she heard a knocking at her door. Ororo opened the door quietly and poked her head in, she didn't seem too concerned about Jolie's privacy.  
  
"The rest of the academy is having breakfast, if you want some food I recommend you get some. The Professor will see you in his office after breakfast." Ororo left after having said that. She obviously had no desire to learn more about Jolie.  
  
Jolie's heart beat a little faster at the mention of the office, and a small hint of relief that the Professor had not been seriously hurt. She managed to find a plain pair of jeans and a sweater in the dresser and opened the door cautiously. There were groups of kids wandering the hallway that had been so desolate the night before. She felt a little out of place in the crowded place, she slowly stepped forward and closed the door behind her. She could smell the food, and her stomach certainly voiced its need, but she wasn't sure where she needed to go. Looking around she decided to follow where most of the kids were gathering, down the hall and into a larger cafeteria looking area. There were large windows that showed a courtyard that she guessed, was where people usually ate, but the fresh snow and cold wind seemed to discourage that.

Jolie looked around and saw a number of tables filled with kids who were eating and talking. Jolie peered through the kitchen door to find a young girl who was rapidly dissolving and creating new arms as she juggled a number of different foods that she was apparently cooking. Jolie grabbed a tray and a plate and dumped as much food as she could from the good sized buffet onto her plate. She found herself an empty table and immediately began to eat.  
  
It wasn't long before she heard someone laughing at her. She slowly looked up and swallowed her last bite of food. She looked up to see a confident looking boy with blond hair, longer that usual he ran his fingers through it while clicking a silver lighter open and closed over and over again. "Something funny?" She was annoyed by this young man and wanted nothing more than to fry his brain just the minute, but she steeled her anger and continued eating.  
  
"Sorry, didn't mean anything by it, you just look starved." He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "I heard you came in last night."  
  
Jolie stopped eating very suddenly, her throat had become very dry. "Yea." She mumbled it noncommittally. She was certainly in trouble if the entire academy knew what she was up to.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it. I was a runaway too. Folk's didn't think much of their freak son." He flicked the lighter shut a little more brutally than before. "Name's Pyro." He held out his hand.  
  
She shook it but gave him a weird look. "What kind of a name is Pyro?"  
  
He shrugged, "It's John, but Pyro's a nickname. It's what my friends call me."  
  
"We'll it's nice to meet you Pyro. My name's Jolie." Jolie had nothing against gaining allies within the building. "I need to go talk with the Professor, but it was nice talking to you." She smiled and quickly disposed of her food tray before she walked back down the hall.  
  
It took her a moment to remember where his office was, but her senses managed to lead her in the right direction. She knocked on the large oak double doors.  
  
_ Come in.  
_  
She felt uncomfortable with him speaking directly into her mind, but she assumed he knew where his boundaries were with her. She opened the door and found him sitting in his leather chair again. "Please, sit." He pointed to a pair of cushioned seats in front of the desk. She sat down quickly, and dared a passing glance at the wall of books. "I was hoping, that we could discuss a few things." Jolie turned her attention back to Xavier, those same eyes calculating her like the night before.  
  
"Like what?" She hoped he had no desire to repeat what he had tried before. Surely he knew that there would be no change.  
  
"Why you are here of course." Jolie's eyes flickered back to the wall of books. Xavier followed her sight. "Do you like to read?"  
  
Jolie nodded, it was true enough, when she had a place she called home she enjoyed reading well enough. "My mum taught me, I think..." She trailed off a little doubtfully; most of her past seemed like it was covered in a thick fog to her.  
  
"Ah," Xavier smiled; he rolled over to the bookshelf and pulled off a red leather bound book. "Have you read much Cannon?" Jolie shook her head. "No, of course not. He never got very big, good friend of mine though." He handed her the book, she took it politely but was tiring of his small talk.  
  
"How much can you tell me?" He looked to her, seriouslness replaced his earlier light demeanor.  
  
Jolie just shrugged. "I don't think I can tell you anything. I was bound."  
  
Xavier nodded thoughtfully, "What can you tell me about yourself then?"  
  
Jolie was a little surprised by the question, but she again found herself empty of answers. "Not much really. I don't remember where I came from. What I do comes in bits and pieces, but none of it makes sense to me..." She trailed off, her past had been bothering her of late. Flashes in her dreams, the soft voice of her mother, but when she tried to focus it all vanished back into that gray haze.  
  
"Who do you live with?" Xavier noticed her discomfort and tried again. "Do you live with your family?"  
  
Jolie shook her head, "Not with my parents. No."  
  
"Do you live with other mutants?" Xavier could tell by her expression that she either could not tell him, or refused to do so. "Do you realize they are manipulating you?" His voice was forceful now. He prodded into the weakest parts of her mind in an effort to turn her resolve. "You have no control over what you can or cannot say. Does this not frighten you?"  
  
Jolie swallowed hard, she couldn't deny what he was saying, but she knew it was for the good of the Alliance. If she were able to speak then their secret would be revealed, and that just couldn't happen. She had earned her place among their ranks and now she would prove to them her loyalty. "There is nothing you can do to make me speak."  
  
"Not even to find your parents?" He pried further into the gray parts of her memories. They had not protected those thoughts from him, mostly because they thought them unimportant. "I can see them, but you cannot remember their names. What kind of people are you protecting that they would take your family away from you?"  
  
Jolie shook her head, "I'm not going to listen to you, they said you'd lie to me." She was uncomfortable now sitting in his office, and had a strong desire to leave.  
  
"So there is a 'they'..." Xavier said more to himself than to Jolie. He stared blankly into the corner of the room. "I don't want to force you to tell me anything you don't want." He looked back at Jolie. "But I would like you to take some classes while you remain with us. It will help you bring back your memories I hope, whether you choose to share any of that with us, is up to you."  
  
Jolie kept her eyes glued on the floor. "Are you finished?" The Professor nodded and Jolie got up quickly without saying anything more. She closed the door behind her, and Xavier went back to thinking.  
  
Scott Summers sat in one of the smaller common rooms across from the front entry. He twirled a single white feather between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes didn't stray from its form, it was a perfectly white, not a blemish on it. His mind wandered from the feather to the girl with the wings for only a moment, he looked up to find Jolie staring at him from the door of Xavier's office. He folded the feather quickly in his palm and turned his head so it would look like he was watching the TV, his eyes however, hidden by his dark glasses followed her movements. She smiled slightly before she turned down the hallway and walked back to her room. Scott quickly pulled the feather back out, he was worried he had crippled it by folding it in his hand, but once he pulled it back out, it sprang back to its original gentle curve.


	4. Chapter 4

She wasn't sure why they had decided to follow her in the first place, but she hadn't noticed them as she came home from her job at the library. It was late and she had had a stressful day, she pulled a cigarette out of her pack and let the blue flame on her finger light the end. She took one long dreg off the cigarette before one of them hit her from behind.  
  
It was a bottle she was sure, because it shattered when it hit her back. She screamed as the pain shot up and down her spine, She had always had a sensitive back, but nothing had felt quite as badly as that had. She felt something wet trickle down her back, she wasn't sure if the bottle wasn't empty or if her skin had been broken and she was now bleeding.  
  
She turned, glaring at her attacker but found there were three of them, leering at her, as if daring her to do something about it. She knew better than to pick a fight with humans, mutants had the unfortunate habit of being blamed for being the start of any violence. She dropped her bag and took off toward a narrow alley, hoping she could loose them by out running them. She ducked under another one of their attempts to throw an object, a brick this time, at her.  
  
Nikita ducked behind a dumpster, hoping they would pass, leaving her unnoticed. All three of them went sprinting past her hiding place, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out from behind the metal box. Searching in either direction she saw that her way was clear and she walked quickly away from where the men had gone.  
  
From above someone tackled her, she hit the pavement hard. She rolled away in an attempt to get away but another attacker was there to beat her down with his fists. She was pinned beneath the weight of the much larger man as he pummeled her while she screamed. No one came to her aid, only more hecklers attacked her.  
  
"It's what you deserve freak!" He shouted at her between punches. She was able to knock most of them away so that they only struck her shoulder instead of her face, but her strength was waning.  
  
"Kill the mutie!" A more sinister looking man came rushing forward with a crow bar. He raised his arms up above his head, ready to crush her face in an instant. His eyes, so filled with hate, didn't understand that he wanted to kill a person. That was what Nikita couldn't stand, that was what she needed to see to justify destroying these Homo sapiens.  
  
Instantly her skin crackled with a heat that made the man on top of her cry out. Her skin shimmered for an instant, giving a hint of the blue flame that she barely contained in herself. She felt she had given the man enough of a warning and she let the flame emerge from her skin. Now the man on top of her was screaming and scrambling to get away from her, blue fire racing up his own clothing.  
  
Nikita shoved him away, unconcerned with his screaming. She glowered at the man who now shakily held the crow bar over his head. A woman wreathed in blue flame stood before him, here eyes held no color, only a blue glow. She reached toward him with a flaming arm.  
  
"Help! Crazed Mutie!" He screamed, he hollered it over and over again as he backed away from her.  
  
Nikita sneered at him, "No one can save you now. You're mine..." She hissed, spitting flames at him playfully.  
  
She was struck solidly with a baseball bat, some of her ribs cracked loudly. But she held back her screams; she threw a wall of flame in the direction that the bat had come from. She knew they must have screamed but she didn't hear any of it, it seemed as if a mass of people had launched themselves at her all at once. She blindly threw balls of flame around her, trying to defend herself from the barrage of attacks.  
  
She had finally exhausted her strength, she gave a last feeble attempt to create a wall of flame around her, but where others fell, more bodies came to fight her. She shuddered suddenly and her flame receded back into her body, darkness clouded her vision and she finally lay still on the ground.  
  
The whole world stopped for a moment, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. A lone man stepped forward from the crowd. His hair was blonde, tousled like he had just gotten out of bed. His green eyes inspected the scene with anger, though he made no move to hurt the humans now, his eyes showed that it was taking every ounce of his resolve to not do so. He wore a dark cloak over his shoulders, and it made it look as though he were gliding over the ground.  
  
He quickly made his way to Nikita's side. She lay, unconscious and naked; her clothing had been burned away from her lack of control. But he could not scold her now, she was broken, blood seeped out of all sorts of wounds and he could see a few bones jutting forth in unnatural angles beneath her skin. He turned and left the frozen scene, the people remained still until long after they had both gone.  
  
Nikita lay in the recovery tube. It had been fashioned by Nickolas, perfected so that it could scan the body and cure any imperfections it had. But the process was long, Nikita had been in there for a week and a half, and she still looked as though she were only just healing from her beating, her bruises and cuts were still apparent. Her bones had been reconstructed which had taken a long period of time. And now Nikita was conscious for longer periods of time, it was promising to the rest of the Alliance.  
  
Nickolas pulled a stool up to the side of the tube, Nikita had woken up and she was smiling around the tube that covered her mouth so she could breath.  
  
"How are you feeling?" he asked her. The glass that created the tube was not soundproof so she was able to hear him well enough. She nodded slowly, her head floating in the water.  
  
"I'm glad you're feeling better." He smiled at her reassuringly. "Soon you won't have to worry about them." He smiled, more to himself now. "Once we have the scrolls there will be nothing stopping us. We can kill all of them with only a touch. We'll never have to fear again." He looked back to Nikita. "Jolie will not fail us." He nodded to her once before he stood up and left the room. He would no doubt use Nikita's story to convince the other mutants that they harbored, that the human race were something to be hated.  
  
Nikita was no longer so sure about what to think. Before Jolie had left she had been wanting to change how mutants were viewed, and although she hated a lot of humans, she had no burning desire to destroy the entire race. But Nickolas had taken her aside and spoken with her about something, Nikita had never found out what it was, the scrolls Nickolas spoke of held no meaning to her. But before she left, on this new mission of hers, Jolie had seemed less like herself. It had actually worried Nikita, but Jolie soon vanished and there was nothing she could do except wait for her friend to return.  
  
In the beginning it had just been Nickolas, alone he spoke out to fellow mutants that would listen. The world could change, he had said, the mutants must come together to make it happen. Nikita had followed him first, when no one else would, when alone Nickolas could be quite, charismatic. Soon enough there were more mutants listening, and agreeing to their cause. Nikita did not know where Jolie had come from, but Nickolas had brought her to the Alliance headquarters one day and she had been integrated as one of their own.  
  
But as of late, Nickolas' message had become darkened; as though all along he had wanted nothing but to harm the human race. And now Nikita found herself unable to stop the monster that she had helped create. She lay motionless in the tank, just focusing on breathing through the tube. If only Jolie had not disappeared like she had, Nikita just hoped she returned soon. 


	5. Chapter 5

Jean had been giving Jolie lessons and exercises for her mind to work themselves around for weeks now. Still, nothing had been accomplished. She could now successfully block Jean when she tried to read into her mind, but certainly not the Professor, and she was no closer to knowing who her parents were. She found the lessons frustrating and boring, but Jean always praised her, telling her how much she was accomplishing.  
  
Scott had visited a few times, she knew his reason was probably more for Jean than an excuse to see her. But she knew she caught his eyes beneath those dark shades more than once whenever he did visit. She had already caught him staring at the feather she had given him; she knew that it was working.  
  
Jolie cleared her thoughts as she stood inside the empty hallway. She was bored, she had already done the silly exercises Jean had given her, and now the rest of her day was empty. She looked toward the large bay windows that shed light into the hallway. She wanted to go outside very suddenly, the snow hadn't stopped for days now, but she couldn't stay in this mansion for much longer. It made her feel old, the way all of the walls, paintings, and books in the place seemed historical or just ancient.  
  
She felt the strange prickling sensation that she was being watched, she turned to see Scott sitting in the same place he had been when she had caught him with her feather. His head jolted to the side quickly, as if to suggest he had merely been watching TV the whole time, even thought the television's screen was completely black.  
  
She smiled wickedly and pulled her pocket knife out. Grabbing the back of her sweater she cut two holes in it. She put the knife away and flexed her shoulders tentatively, waiting for the sharp pain in her back to come, she grimaced slightly but soon there were two budding wings poking out of her sweater. She glanced at Scott again, who was still pretending not to be looking at her, and walked out the front doors.  
  
Scott sat there a moment longer; he had a strong urge to follow. He pulled the white feather out of his front pocket and felt the urge grow stronger. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was suspicious of the girl, but that small voice was overpowered by his desire to follow. He quickly got up from the leather couch, grabbed his jacket and exited out of the door.  
  
Jolie unfurled her wings completely, she had to admit she was always quite taken by them. It was the only thing that made being a mutant okay for her, she was just grateful they were removable. She was able to hide her most prominent power, a gift not given to many mutants. She jumped into the air and let her wings catch her, holding her for a minute until she pumped them powerfully, propelling her further into the air.  
  
The snow crystals stung her face as she went higher and faster, in less than five minutes she was nearly frozen to death, but she didn't mind. She felt like she was free in the air, that just for a moment none of these people mattered, not Xavier, not Nickolas, no one. She looked down toward the ground to see a small black dot against the white of the snow. _We'll, almost no one._ She smiled and tilted her wings so that she dove down again.  
  
She quickly reached the ground, only pulling up at the last second to let her wings catch the air and lower her safely to the ground. She let some of her energy charge the air, just enough to make the hair on the back of Scott's neck stand straight, she smiled innocently, as if she were surprised to see him.  
  
"Oh, hey Scott, nice to see you." She shivered slightly, and rubbed her arms together to make herself warmer.  
  
"It's a little cold out here for flying, isn't it?" He asked scratching the back of his neck.  
  
"Oh yea," She smiled, even she couldn't hide that her lips were turning blue. "It's freezing!"  
  
"Here," Scott pulled his winter coat off. "Take my jacket."  
  
Jolie smiled a bit, knowing they wouldn't fit over her wings, but she didn't think Scott realized that. She flexed her shoulders until her wings fell off and she let Scott put the jacket around her shoulders.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to..." Scott didn't quite know how to word it; he looked down at the ground where the snow was melting from the feathers burning. .  
  
Jolie shook her head. "Don't worry about it; your jacket is much warmer, thank you." She smiled and zipped the coat up, it was still plenty warm from when Scott was wearing it, but Jolie felt a little guilty because it was now apparent that Scott was freezing.  
  
"I never see you around much? Why is that?" She asked playfully, trying to keep his attention focused on her and not the cold.  
  
"I, uh...I hang out with Jean a lot, she's kinda my, uh..." Scott stammered, struggling to be honest.  
  
Jolie cut him off before he could finish his sentence, she didn't want to hear what she already knew. "Oh I know Jean! She's such a sweetheart, helping me out with my lessons. It's been really useful." She lied, but sounded sincere as she said it.  
  
"Yea, she's really smart." Scott felt his guilt burning through him, but he couldn't bring himself to say any more.  
  
Jolie came close enough that she could smell Scott's aftershave, he was only a little taller than her, but she still found herself looking up to look into his eyes. She combed her fingers through her black hair playfully for a moment, letting him relax when she was so close. Her green eyes tried desperately to search beyond the dark glasses.  
  
"I like your glasses," She reached up and traced the rim. Letting her fingers linger on the side of his face.  
  
Scott jumped a little and grabbed her arm, "Don't! My eyes..."  
  
Jolie just giggled, she pushed a tuft of his hair behind his ear, "Don't be silly, I wasn't going to take them off." She smiled warmly, instead of pulling her arm back down she let it hand gently on his shoulder. He still had his grip on her, but instead of pulling it back down he just held it there, unsure of what he wanted to do. Jolie smiled warmly, she took advantage of his indecision and wrapped her other arm up around his neck. "Do you always hide behind those glasses of yours?"  
  
Scott felt his nerves building up in his stomach, swallowing to clear his throat he struggled. "No...not when I close my eyes," He stammered.  
  
Jolie put her hand back up to his glasses, giving him a warning tug. "Then close them," She whispered. She pushed the glasses up over his forehead and rested them there. She smiled as she saw Scott tightly scrunching his eyes together; she let her fingers play over his lids, brushing them gently. "Relax," There was laughter in her voice now. Scott took a few quick breaths and finally let them out, the tension in his shoulders released and his crinkled brow smoothed out.  
  
Jolie's eyes softened a little, she leaned forward and stood slightly on her toes. She could feel his breath on her own lips, his breathing was shallow, and she smiled slightly. She closed her eyes and her lips just barely brushed up against his, her skin tingled with the contact, her own powers having nothing to do with it now.  
  
"Jolie..." Scott's voice was quiet; Jolie could hear his own struggle. "I can't..."  
  
Jolie held still for a moment, but decided it would be wrong to force him. She tilted her head slightly and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Thanks for coming to see me." She said quickly and pulled away from him, heading inside.  
  
Scott stood for a moment in his own darkness with his glasses still off. He touched the side of his face gingerly with his own fingers, and he finally let out the breath that he had been holding in a big whoosh. He pulled his glasses back down to his face shakily and opened his eyes, surveying the area around him. Jolie's sudden departure left his body colder now that he was exposed to the wind again, he shivered in the snow. He pulled out the white feather and ran it through his fingers for a moment before he turned to go back inside. 


	6. Chapter 6

Jolie walked into the mansion with a big grin on her face, though she had not actually done it, she had come dangerously close, and Scott was so good looking. She shivered at the thought of him without his glasses on and smiled even more, she walked into the main hall and headed toward her room.  
  
Logan grabbed her arm roughly and pushed her into the wall. "Just what he hell do you think you're doing?" He growled low in his throat, clearly she had done something to make him mad.  
  
"Get off me," She tried to shove his arm away but he just used his weight to crush against her.  
  
"This jacket," He tugged on one of the sleeves. "Ain't yours."  
  
Jolie thought she understood now, but wasn't really sure why Logan would have a problem with her perusing Scott. As she had understood it from other students, Logan made it apparent that he hated Scott. "What do you care? Unless you're jealous?" She gave as much attitude as she could muster, knowing at any point in time those metal knives could come splitting out of his knuckles.  
  
He sneered, "Don't flatter yourself. I know you're just a stinkin' rat. But don't mess with Summers." His steely eyes glared at her.  
  
"Don't think you can tell me what to do. What do you care about Scott?" She felt herself getting angry. Logan had not spoken to her since she had arrived, and she had no desire to get advice from him now.  
  
"I don't care about Summers!" He nearly barked at her, fully solidifying the rumors about Logan hating Scott. "But I won't have you hurtin' Jeanie." His voice had gotten a little quieter, but no less threatening.  
  
"What do you care about Jean?" She scoffed at the thought of this wild man caring about anyone but himself. But she found that to be a mistake.  
  
"You don't know nothing' about me, so don't presume..." He jolted her once more before releasing her from his iron grip.  
  
"Well if you care so much, then why don't you do something about it?" Jolie adjusted her clothing, trying to brush the mans smell off of her.  
  
"I did, a long time ago." Logan looked weaker as he thought back on whatever buried memories he had, but he tightened his resolve. "But she made her decision. So don't go messin' that up." Jolie started to argue again but he waved her off. "but that's not what I wanted to talk about." Jolie looked at him strangely, she hadn't really expected Logan to speak to her ever, and now they were already having two conversations. "It's about your lessons. To get yer memories back."  
Jolie refused to look at him directly, that was supposed to be between her and the Professor, she had no desire to explain herself to anyone else, especially not to Logan.  
  
Logan just shook his head. "I don't wanna know. To be honest I don't really like you." Jolie rolled her eyes, he had made that quite apparent. "But I had some things, in my past..." He trailed off forgetting that she was there, for just a moment he reminisced. "Things that I could remember. And Chuck," He gave her a stern look. "The professor, tried to help me remember...it never worked." He told her flat out. The thought of all her time here being wasted infuriated her. "I had to go out 'n find it myself. There ain't any answers here kid." After that he pulled out a half chewed cigar and put it in him mouth. He looked as though he would say something else but thought better of it, turned, and left.

Jolie closed the door to her room behind her, frustrated at what Logan was telling her. She was wasting her time here, she had only stayed in hopes to remember what she had lost. With that gone there was no reason for her to stay, her mind lingered for a moment on Scott, an image in her mind, but she shook that away. Her job was going to be complicated enough without him on her mind.  
  
Logan entered the kitchen, seeing that beautiful redhead drinking some hot chocolate. He snuck up behind her until he was close enough to smell the citrus tang of her shampoo.  
  
"Don't forget I can read your dirty mind." Jean teased, turning around to face Logan. His terrifying demeanor had changed from when he was talking to Jolie, he now had a silly grin on his face, and his eyes seemed playful.  
  
"So what am I thinkin'?" He grinned and leaned his hands against the counter, trapping Jean between him and the counter.  
  
"I don't think I want to know," Jean's voice was stern, but a sly smile on her lips revealed that she wasn't serious. "You tell me." She eyed him carefully over her mug as she took a sip.  
  
"Darlin'," He grinned. "I thought you'd never ask." He leaned forward and pressed his forhead against hers. The softness of her skin felt nice against his own. "I'm thinking a white picket fence," Jean giggled but Logan held his fingers up to her mouth. "Hush, let me finish. A nice cabin on the lake, a few dozen kids." Jean couldn't hold back her laughter. "Okay, just a half dozen. A wedding on the beach." Logan looked at Jean seriously, he knew what she had already told him, but it hurt his heart to see her with someone else.  
  
Jean returned his steady gaze, her heart had quickened. She had always gotten nervous around Logan, it was probably why she so often tried to fend off his attempts. The truth was she was comfortable with Scott, and she was scared to move away from that. But now, the more she thought about it, the more she liked the butterflies that threatened to swarm in her stomach. There was an excitement that she wasn't sure she remembered feeling with Scott. "I want a wedding in the snow." She smiled shyly, she had never really given Logan any trace of hope, she could see his eyes light up.  
  
"Whatever you want darlin'," He pulled her close into him, running his hand through her silky hair. How he had longed to taste that strawberry gloss that Jean was so fond of. He was surprised to feel Jean press into his lips first, here eyes closed tightly, as she tried to put the hot chocolate down on the counter behind her. She grew more heated as she held his head with both her hands, massaging his head, Logan groaned lightly, it felt good that he finally had Jean in his arms.  
  
He pushed through her lips gently, and tickled the inside of her mouth with his tongue. He could feel her exploring his mouth with her own tongue, he watched her always, eyes enjoying the view. He worried that if he closed his eyes she would disappear, and he would have to admit it was just a dream.  
  
Jean stopped and opened her eyes; she looked softer than he had ever seen her before. He smiled, she had never looked at him that way, and he hoped it wouldn't be the last time. "Trust me," She said, pulling one of his hands up to her face. "I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Logan grinned, realizing she had heard his thoughts. "We'll I best take advantage of that." He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her more deeply than before, this time letting his eyes drift closed, it was the best feeling he had ever had.  
  
Scott entered the mansion feeling a little confused, but he smiled despite his feelings of guilt. His hand was in his pocket, feeling the feather gently. He needed to take his mind off of it, so he headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. He pushed open the door, and it swung wide without a noise. Scott was startled to see Logan standing with his back to him, and someone with their arms wrapped around him.  
  
It took a moment for Scott to realize who that 'someone' was, brilliant red hair, milky white skin, he could even hear her familiar giggles. Jean was very much focused on the task at hand, and neither her nor Logan noticed Scott's presence. He thought for a moment that he would say something, but thought better of it. Scott had seen the way Logan looked at Jean, always had looked at her that way. Scott had even asked Jean about it, but she said she had settled the matter; apparently there was more to be discussed between the two.  
  
Scott quietly made his exit, feeling defeated. He had tested his own loyalties, and he had prevailed, barely. He didn't understand why Jean hadn't just told him there was something wrong. He felt betrayed, there was no reason for her to be dishonest with him like this. He went to lay down in his bedroom, trying not to think to much about what just happened.  
  
Jean had freshened up as best as she could in front of the bathroom mirror. Her hair still looked a little ruffled but she managed to rearrange it well enough. She had been looking for Scott all afternoon and had finally consulted the Professor on the matter, because she was unable to seek him out with her mind.  
  
"Perhaps you could try his room." Xavier smiled with understanding when she had come to ask for help. Jean thanked the Professor and took off in that direction, Scott's room was in the far wing of the mansion, she wondered why she had not been able to sense him there.  
  
Jean knocked on his door lightly, waiting for an answer. She heard a mumble from within and took that as a good enough response. "Scott?" She probed with her mind as she entered the room.  
  
He shook his hands at her, "No, don't read me, not right now." Scott had experienced it enough to know what it felt like to have Jean inspecting his mind. He didn't want her knowing what he knew just yet.  
  
"I'm sorry Scott, I just couldn't find you. I didn't realize I was getting blocked." She smiled and sat down on the bed next to him. "Is there something wrong?" She asked, wanting to know if maybe she shouldn't say anything about her and Logan.  
  
"No, I'm fine. I just...I just need some time to think..." Scott held his head in his palms and stared at the floor. He refused to look Jean in the eye, but he wasn't about to tell her about it.  
  
"Okay," She chewed her lip nervously, her stomach was feeling sick now, so very unlike the butterflies that Logan gave her. But she knew that the sick feeling was more her fault than it was Scott's, it was guilt and nerves mixing together, urging her to tell him the truth. "I just wanted to talk..." She took a deep breath, she couldn't tell him the whole truth. "About seeing other people." She didn't want to seed more bad blood between Scott and Logan, she saw no reason to tell him about her kitchen incident.  
  
Scott finally looked up at her, a strange smirk on his face, but it wasn't a friendly one. "You suppose so?" Jean didn't understand his tone, but it didn't seem to be anger which she thought was a good sign. She nodded her head. "We'll I guess that's alright." Scott went back to looking at the floor, that same strange smirk on his face.  
  
Jean sat on the bed in silence for a little bit until the awkwardness finally got to her. "We'll I guess I'll be going now." She got up and kissed the top of Scott's head, he didn't respond, and Jean walked out the door. Scott shook his head, he was beyond angry; he couldn't believe she wasn't going to tell her about Logan. He threw himself back onto the soft bed and crushed a pillow against his face, letting his eyes close and he drifted off into sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Jolie rolled out of bed, rubbing her head gently, she had a pounding headache and she wasn't feeling very well. She pulled the blanket off of her bed and stumbled over to the corner of the room where she found an extra pair of slippers so she wouldn't have to walk across the cold floor. She shuffled out of her room and down the hall with the blanket draped around her shoulders. She grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and sipped it while she wandered back to the TV room, she wasn't particularly interested in watching TV but she wasn't getting very good sleep in her room.  
  
Scott struggled to sleep well, his mind was haunted by dreams he could not explain.  
  
_He was standing in Professor Xavier's office, but there was no ceiling, dark clouds thundered over his head and he was all alone. Suddenly he could see all of the students, dead or locked away in cages. Humans were screaming, running in all directions, but they would suddenly look stricken and collapse, twitching as they turned to a dark purple. There were thousands of corpses, all around him, all of them dying. A pair of pure white wings came gliding over everything, casting a glowing light over everything, blinding him from his troubles for a moment. But the wings flew past him, and the purifying glow was gone, leaving the bodies of the dead behind. They screamed at him, clutching at his limbs, pulling him down into their ranks. He became buried by the dead, they were crushing his lungs, he couldn't breath. He could just see a man, standing upon the heaps of bodies, laughing manically, his arms raised to the skies._  
  
Scott thrashed in his bed, unable to wake himself. He suddenly sat up, panting for air, a cold sweat covered his skin like a film. He scowled at the pillow that had hindered his breathing and tossed it across the room. He calmed his breathing and looked at the clock, the green numbers blinked 2:20 AM back at him. He grumbled knowing he would never get back to sleep now. He shuffled over to the bathroom and decided to take a shower, drowning away the disturbing clarity of the dream.  
  
He changed into a pair of boxers and threw himself back onto the bed, hoping to fall asleep but every time he closed his eyes the vivid images flashed back into his head. Scott eventually gave up his efforts and wandered out to watch some TV. He was surprised to find that the TV was already on, and someone was already on the couch watching it. His breath caught in his chest for a moment as he realized it was Jolie, but she wasn't watching the TV, she had fallen asleep watching, still sitting up, but wrapped up in a blanket.  
  
Scott settled down next to her on the couch, looking at her sleeping form. She looked like an angel as she slept even without her wings. He moved his hand forward to brush some of her black hair from her face, and pushed it back past her ear. He let his hand stray there for a moment, but froze when Jolie stirred. She slowly slid over until her head rested on his chest, her eyes never opening, she settled again and resumed her leveled breathing.  
  
Scott tried to shallow his breathing so as not to wake her but was very tense. Eventually he managed to steady himself, and not worry so much about the girl sleeping on him. He slouched back on the couch and watched the made for TV movie that was playing.  
  
Jolie woke slowly to the sound of a heartbeat, at first she thought it was her own, but then she realized that the beat was in her ears. She felt an arm draped around her shoulders, more using her as an armrest than a gesture meaning anything. She opened her eyes slowly and could still see the TV playing that terribly movie she had started to watch.  
  
"Yea, cause that's going to happen." She heard his voice, Scott's voice scoffing at the huge ninja fight that had been won by one lone man. She couldn't help but smile, she didn't remember falling asleep on the couch but she must have. How she ended up using Scott as her pillow she wasn't quite sure.  
  
_ Enjoying yourself?  
_  
Jolie's smile evaporated off of her face, she knew that voice in her head, Nickolas. Jolie didn't stir, so as not to alert Scott, having a conversation in her head, and out loud at the same time was very difficult.  
  
_What is it?_ Jolie was annoyed at being disturbed, but she felt a growing force on her mind that demanded she show respect.  
  
_You are wasting time. Why have you not returned with the scrolls?_ She could hear the anger and malice in his voice, but her concern about that seemed to be washed away.  
  
_I know where they are._ She responded calmly, it was true she knew where they were. But why she had not retrieved them she wasn't exactly sure.  
  
_Get them, now._ The agitation in his voice was apparent.  
  
_Is that really necessary?_ Jolie didn't see the need to disrupt her fun just yet. Nickolas had lived for years without the Scrolls, there was no reason he could not wait a little longer.  
  
_Now._ Jolie shivered, he had clearly sent his rage along with his message this time, it had actually frightened her.  
  
Scott noticed her movement. "Oh...I, I'm sorry. You were asleep, and you just tipped over...my...my arm got tired." He stuttered nervously, the calm that had managed to relax him while she had been asleep, evaporated as if it had never been.  
  
Jolie sat up and stretched, still shaking slightly. "No, don't worry about it. You probably would have caught a cold out here like that if I hadn't have been here." She grinned, looking at Scott's well toned muscles, she had not realized that he took that good care of his body. She let her hand rest on his chest while she pretended she was still lifting herself up. She could feel his breath suddenly getting quicker, she smiled at her own rush of excitement. "It is kind of cold in here." She pulled the blanket up around her shoulders suddenly very nervous at how Scott was looking at her. Before she had been in control catching Scott by surprise, but something had changed in him. Before she realized what happened Scott had leaned in and kissed her fully on the mouth. For a moment Jolie was so shocked that she did nothing.  
  
Scott immediately pulled back, mumbling his apologies. "I'm sorry...that was out of line..."  
  
Jolie giggled at Scott's poor attempts, she could tell, even in the darkness that his face had turned a bright red. She quickly interrupted him by returning his kiss, melting into the moment. She felt Scott relax his arms and he cupped her face in his hands. Jolie enjoyed feeling the warmth of his hands, she wrapped her arms around his neck, lost in her own blissful world.  
  
_ Do not make me ask again._ The impatient voice was livid. She felt a sudden sharp pain in her mind, it traveled throughout her body. She shrieked and threw herself from the couch.  
  
Scott looked terrified that he had done something to hurt her. He jumped up to help her off of the floor. "I'm sorry, did I...?"  
  
Jolie shook her head, "No...no it was in my mind..." She shivered at the thought that Nickolas had been able to attack her like that, she didn't think he was that powerful. She had always seen him as a figurehead with the idea, never had she imagined him to hold much power. She let Scott lift her up, but was distracted by something at the window.  
  
A woman, wreathed in blue flame waved to her frantically from outside, Jolie could see the ice melting on the window. "Nikita?" She wondered why her friend would have traveled so far to see her.  
  
Scott saw the woman soon after Jolie, he put himself between the windows and Jolie. "Go get the Professor Jolie." Scott spoke with an intensity which suddenly made Jolie understand why he was one of the prominent figures in the school, he seemed a natural leader, concerned for the welfare of others.  
  
Jolie gently pulled him back. "It's okay, I know her. She's a friend." Jolie quickly crossed to the sliding glass doors and exited the mansion, Scott was hot on her heels. "Nikita, what are you doing here?"  
  
The woman slowly let the flames recede from her body; a tight fitting blue jumpsuit remained, apparently inflammable. She looked exhausted and nearly ready to collapse. She took a few deep breaths before speaking. "Had to tell you..." She coughed loudly, interrupting her message.  
  
"Nikita, you need to rest." Jolie tried to gesture her inside, but Nikita just shook her head. Jolie stepped forward to help her forward and was shocked to find that her skin was on fire, but a cold sweat plastered her skin. "Nikita! You're sick, you must come inside!" She tried pulling her forward but Nikita still fought her off. Scott stood still, not quite sure what to do. "Scott, please help me." Jolie looked to him pleadingly; clearly the sickness had traveled to her mind as she refused to get out of the freezing weather.  
  
"No!" Nikita shouted at them, trying to catch her breath. "Jolie," She gripped Jolie's arm harshly so that she did not move. "He is coming."  
  
Jolie looked at her confused. "Who?"  
  
Nikita did not release her arm, still looking at Jolie with a mix of terror and desperation. "Nickolas. He brings the Alliance with him." 


	8. Chapter 8

"The Alliance?" Scott echoed behind Jolie, but she wasn't paying attention to him as he turned to run back into the building. "I have to tell the Professor."  
  
"Why?" Jolie was too horrified to think of anything else to ask. She had been sent on a mission, and she would no doubt be punished severely for her failure.  
  
Nikita shook her head, she had sat down in the snow and seemed to be recovering from her flight to the school slowly. "I'm not sure. But he was furious." Nikita looked frightened in a way Jolie had never seen before. "I don't know why you've come here, but it's bad Jolie, you should stop!"  
  
"I haven't done anything yet, I was supposed to..." She choked on her own words before she realized that she would be unable to explain to her friend what was going on.  
  
Nikita just continued with her terrified banter, "You have to stop it, whatever it is. It is, evil..." She whispered, as though the very mention of it could start something horrid. "I've seen some of Nickolas' thoughts; they are darker, much darker than I have ever seen. And I sense some of that darkness has been transferred to you. Please," She grabbed Jolie's hand. "Don't let him take you...he is here..." She whispered the last part as if it were a prophecy.  
  
_Retrieve the Scrolls before I arrive. It would be unwise to fail._ Nickolas' presence forced itself into her mind. She felt her legs moving without their bidding; the familiar tug that had been absent of late, returned full force, guiding her once again. She quickly made her way into the mansion again, running blindly through the halls. But the maze did not seem so uncertain as it would have normally. Now there was a beacon guiding her to the office of Professor Xavier.  
  
She heard muffled movements past the walls but she thought nothing of it and continued to her destination. The double doors of Xavier's office stood before her, thrown open as though someone had left in a hurry. She smiled; it was all going to be too simple. Stepping into the office with light steps she flexed her shoulders and felt the familiar pain of re- growing the wings, listening to the crack of new bone forming. The wings easily slid around her tank top straps and finally, in full form, flapped magnificently. They propelled her into the air gently, so she would not soar up and hit the ceiling, and delicately made her way to the topmost shelf of books.  
  
She reached out her hand, searching the titles with her fingers until she felt the tug in her chest. "Ah," She smiled grabbing one of the larger books. She opened the cover gently, finding that the pages had been cut out in the middle, leaving a good sized gap for storage. Her eyes caught what she wanted immediately, old brown parchment rolls, tied together, and smelling of ancient times. They were relatively small, only the length of her palm, but she knew what power they held. With the proper use, it could unleash a plague of frightful proportions. It was Nickolas' dream to unleash it onto the human race so that they would never fear again. It was to be his gift to the mutant race.  
  
Jolie's heart thudded loudly in her chest, somewhere in the back of her mind she was screaming, but that was locked far away. She landed quickly and ran back to where she had left Nikita.  
  
She was stopped at the sliding glass door, where Scott stood, dressed in very different attire. His hand was up at his temple, pressing something. She slowed to a walk, confused at the stoic expression on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked, clearly having missed something.  
  
"You...you're with the Alliance." He seemed to spit out the word, as if it were something distasteful to him.  
  
Jolie found she couldn't answer him, it seemed that was another thing that she was restricted to. "Is that wrong? Just a gathering of mutants so that we can stay safe."  
  
Scott found his resolve melting. How could it be so bad if Jolie was a part of it? "Is that what you came to steal before?"  
  
Jolie found things hard to explain to him with so many things blocked. "It is only to help us stay safe. Please Scott, come with me." The question came out so suddenly it even shocked herself. Scott stood baffled for a moment, unable to say anything. Jolie closed the distance between them quickly, Scott's hand lowered from his temple. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him. "I've always been alone Scott. With you, I feel better, I feel safe. Come with me." She repeated, wishing with all her heart that he would say yes.  
  
Scott looked as though he struggled with the thought for a moment, he reached up with his hand and cradled her face. He sighed softly, but shook his head. "I can't do that Jolie."  
  
Jolie instantly felt her heart crush into tiny pieces. A few silent tears rolled down her face, Scott brushed a few of them away with his gloved hand but she turned away. "I must leave." Scott looked as though he would try to stop her, as was his duty, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He stepped aside, when suddenly the world tore in half.  
  
The roof of the hallway tore away, revealing a clear sky, the stars were brighter than ever and the moon shone brilliantly. Frigid air swept into the area around Scott and Jolie, and the floor crumbled beneath them. The wall to the outside had shattered and fallen to the ground. Jolie watched as a tall man with blonde hair raised his fist into the air, taking the ceiling with it, and the tossed it some distance behind them. Another man pushed his outstretched palm across the ground in front of him and the floor split up more, and anything left of the wall instantly crumbled. Jolie could hear a low laughter high above them all. She jumped into the air and joined Nickolas where he was floating above them all.  
  
"I have the scrolls." She showed him the brown rolls that she carried in her hands. "Why have you come?"  
  
Nickolas laughed. "You did not think we would be able to unleash a plague on the human race without hearing from the X-men." He spoke mockingly of the name.  
  
"The X-men are not here. I am sure they have more important matters to attend to."  
  
Nickolas just laughed at her. "Surely you have noticed the boy with the laser eyes, I would have imagined with you being so intimate with him." Jolie felt a sadness swelling up in her throat but held it back. "And the beast with the claws, the fair red head with powerful telekinetic powers? Did you think this was all just a coincidence?" He laughed again. "Truly you are more pathetic than I had imagined."  
  
Jolie slowly turned her gaze to the ground where Scott had stood. He was now surrounded by others in the same sort of black leather ensemble. She had not noticed the familiar 'X' pattern that had been sewn in until just now. "No..." She whispered unable to comprehend it all.  
  
"But now we can test the scrolls on them, since they all showed up so rudely without invitation." He snatched the scrolls out of Jolie's hand without even a suggestion that she might deny him. Immediately beneath them she saw and heard a fight began to erupt. The Alliance members had become agitated and launched themselves at the X-men. Jean had easily flung some of them aside while Scott had blasted a few of them, but they were all just momentarily stunned.  
  
Logan wasted no time in giving warning shots, he jumped on the closest mutant and in a flash of claws had him on the ground. The man beneath him shot spurts of water in all directions trying to get Logan to release him, but to no avail. Logan fought like a rabid animal, Jolie could see why she had been so terrified of him before.  
  
Soon winds were gusting violently, threatening to tilt Jolie if she were to lose control of her wings. She could see Ororo in the distance, her eyes a brilliant white even at her distance. Hail began to bounce off of her head, severely painful, and the chunks were only growing larger.  
  
She looked to Nickolas who had the scrolls open and floating in front of him. He had a sinister smile upon his face as he spoke in a language she didn't understand. But she felt her mind loosen, his grip seemed to be slipping somehow as he was focused on the scrolls. With such clarity she realized what he was about to do, if he were to unleash the plague, all humans would die, there would be no cure. She had a stunning realization of what he had always been planning, he wanted to run the country, he wanted all those that survived to bow beneath him, he wanted the power. She had been blind to it all, but with his attention away from her she found she could think freely again.  
  
She searched quickly for the familiar blue flames, she could see Nikita keeping her distance from the fighting, she was probably just as confused as Jolie was. She dove down, arriving quickly, Nikita looked frightened. "What do we do?" She shivered in the below zero temperatures.  
  
"You have to burn the scrolls Nikita. I'll distract him, you just destroy them." Jolie held Nikita's shoulders, careful to make eye contact with her. "Can you do that?"  
  
Nikita nodded solemnly. They both took off, ignoring the fight below them that seemed to be turning bad for the Alliance. The weather seemed to be weakening them severely, and Logan had just finished cutting the throat of another one. Jolie looked away from the fight and focused on her task at hand. She soared up above Nickolas' head and began to beat her wings furiously around his head while hovering; she kicked him solidly in the head and then leapt higher up into the air, just out of his reach. Nickolas' turned to face Jolie. He clenched his fists at his side, making a growling noise in his throat. His eyes no longer had any pupils, they were just black voids, she could only see hate in them. Her eyes lingered on Nikita's progress, she was nearly close enough to burn the parchment.  
  
Suddenly Nickolas smiled, a sadistic grin grew across his face and he snapped his fingers. Nikita began to scream as her own flame seemed to eat away at her flesh, she began to tumble back towards earth. Jolie let out her own cry and dove after her, Nikita hit the ground and extinguished, but when Jolie reached her, there was nothing left. Only a pearl sized blue gem, she picked it up and sobbed. He shoulders shook as she collapsed into the snow, only the dark voice of Nickolas brought her to.  
  
"Did you think my own creation could betray me?" He laughed loudly, grating against Jolie's nerves. "She is a figment of my imagination. I can see what she sees, I can hear what she thinks. What chance did you have?"  
  
Jolie shook her head, she wouldn't believe that something as good and decent as Nikita had been formed from his black mind. Even if he had, he had made her flawed, because even she had decided to betray him, no matter what Nickolas thought. Regardless a rage began to build up in Jolie, she could taste the bile in the back of her throat. She would not let this man live. He had taken her mind, and now he had taken her friend, she would see him die tonight.  
  
The crackle of her own electricity filled the air as she let her power flow into a ball around her. It glowed with a white intensity, and electrified her hair so that it flew wildly about her head. Her eyes reflected the electricity around her as she flew up toward Nickolas. His laughter had stopped but the smile had not faded from his face.  
  
_ How do you know you are real?_ He filled her mind with doubt and something else, he had taken his mind away from the scrolls and now he could control her once again. But she refused to give in, slowly she beat against the barriers in her mind, slowly until she was able to outstretch her arms. She clenched her hands into fists and propelled herself full force at the man who had caused her so much pain. She connected with him, but she did not stop. She pushed them both up higher and higher into the air, faster than she had ever gone before. She could hear Nickolas laughing again.  
  
"You would kill us both?"  
  
She knew he wouldn't think it was funny if he realized how true his statement had been. But she could see nothing now, not his face, not the sky above, just the bright electricity that surrounded her. Making her into a ticking bomb to what ever she connected with. She felt her lungs began to beg for more oxygen, she knew she had flown far enough. She quickly reversed directions and increased her speed more than she had though possible. She felt the cold air burning her face as she plummeted to the ground. She thought she heard Nickolas began to scream, but that could have just been the wind screaming past her face.  
  
_ Don't..._She heard Nickolas' pleading voice one last time, but she ignored it as she gave one final burst of speed, connecting with the ground.  
  
The world was a flash of brilliant white, and a thunderous explosion, it shook her very bones. She came to for a short while, the taste of blood fresh in her mouth. Her ears could take in nothing but the deafening silence that surrounded her head. She could feel several of the bones in her wings broken, but she didn't have the strength to break them off. She could see the snow around her stained with blood, whose it was she wasn't sure. She tried to look around but she couldn't lift her head from the cold snow. Her eyes searched the sky, realizing she had created a crater, deep in the snow. As the first new flakes of snow hit her in the face she smiled.  
  
_At least a proper burial._ She let the darkness take her away peacefully as it filled her with a warm feeling. The snow slowly covered her broken body, hiding the fresh blood strains in her beautiful white wings. 


	9. Chapter 9

Hehe, sorry guys I wasn't done, thanks for the reviews still though! :-P Oh, and I just got my wisdom teeth yanked, so I'm on a few drugs, but I was bored, so I thought I'd do this anyway...buuuut...I dunno if I'm thinking normally right now, (I got really excited when I had my dad steal a Barbie sticker from the oral surgeon...yea...) so forgive me if there are some...crappy moments :-P ahhhhhhh  
  
They all saw the explosion, it blinded everyone for a moment. Even the members of the Alliance stopped to see what had happened. Logan had his claws deep in a woman's shoulder he had been blowing fire into his chest when suddenly her eyes faded completely black, her body began to burn through itself until there was nothing left.  
  
"What the..." Logan pulled his hand away, his burns slowly recovering, but his leather suit had been damaged leaving a hole to see his wounds close up. Logan looked up and noticed quite a few other Alliance mutants evaporating and self destructing.  
  
Jean rushed over to Logan, inspecting where he had been burned, but he was quickly healing. "Are you alright?" She prodded gently where the blisters were, fading back into his skin.  
  
Logan nodded, he wasn't much concerned about himself, and he was still confused about what had happened though. The few Alliance members that were still left had seen what had happened to the others and they had taken off running. "What the hell just happened?" He sniffed the ground where the woman had been laying. There was nothing left except for small orange marble; he held it up, letting the moon shine through it. He searched out others, all of them different colors. There were more than a dozen rolling around in his fist. "What is this?"  
  
Jean looked at the colored marbles, confused herself. She closed her eyes and let her hand hover over the marbles. "I can feel them...inside." She searched further with her mind. "But it doesn't make any sense..."  
  
"I think I can explain." Professor Xavier floated forward, able to avoid rolling over the uneven snow. "Nickolas was a manipulator. In his mind, he was able to in a sense, create, people." There were dozens of the students, just waking up, who were inspecting the destroyed part of the mansion, looks of confusion covered most of their faces.  
  
"But they weren't real." Logan smelled no life within the marbles, and he could sense no trace of them anywhere.  
  
Xavier shook his head. "Oh no, they were quite real. More real than I think Nickolas expected them to be. He is more powerful than I think anyone knows, including himself."  
  
Logan scoffed, "Is? Don't you mean was?" They had all seen the explosion that resulted in his death. "Jolie took him for a ride; I don't think anyone could have survived that." He spoke the last bit a little quieter. Though he had never liked Jolie a bit, it had taken a lot to sacrifice herself like that, he had been impressed despite himself.  
  
"I would not be so sure about Nickolas' death; I still sense something of his presence." The professor had receded into his mind in order to concentrate further, no longer answering questions.  
  
Logan saw Jean began to tear up next to him. He let her sob into his chest; she was really the only one who had gotten to know her. "Sh...it's okay Jeanie, she did what needed to be done."  
  
Jean shook her head. "It shouldn't have been like this. If he's still alive it was a waste. Even though she was blocking me out of her thoughts, I still caught glimpses. She was a good person. I wish this hadn't of happened. We don't even know if she has any family." She managed to gain her composure again, brushing back her tears.  
  
The professor had an odd look on his face, as though he was not quite focused on Jean. "Where is Scott?"  
  
Scott pumped his legs faster than they had gone before. He had seen Jolie fly up into the air, suddenly charged with her own powers. He had seen her fly so high into the air that she had appeared only a star in the night sky, and he had seen her, plummet toward the ground, never slowing for a second.  
  
He had began to run before she had gotten halfway down, the explosion had actually knocked him to his side, but he immediately regained his feet and continued to run. He had seen the general area where she had fallen, but heavy snow began to fall, and the moon had slipped beneath the horizon, leaving darkness just before dawn.  
  
"Jolie!" He shouted into the forest around him; his lungs burned from the cold air. Scott couldn't see much of anything, he just hoped there would be a fallen tree, or something burned; anything to give him a hint as to where Jolie had fallen. He scanned the snow covered ground around him, still refusing to listen to the voice in the back of his head that knew she was dead.  
  
The sun slowly peaked above the mountains ahead of him, barely lighting the trees. He stared at the sun for a moment, slowing to a walk. He did not see the dip in the snow and he stumbled, falling down to his knees. The snow here was crunchy, like it had been melted, but with Ororo's freezing winds it had instantly been frozen over again. Looking up he realized that the dip in the snow was a large circle, a large flat area in the middle, where the tip of the crater did not look quite natural. "Jolie?" He shouted, and attempted to get back up, but the ice on top of the snow caught up his feet and he managed to roll most of the way down the steep hill of snow. He rapidly dug at random spots in the snow, digging to find some sign of her. He had to crunch through the thick layer, and then toss around the light powder that lay beneath.  
  
He cried out his frustrations, throwing his fists into the snow. He paused, realizing he had hit something that wasn't snow. He dug frantically and he produced a leg, tattered pajama bottoms hung loosely and the skin was beginning to turn an unnatural color. He quickly tore through the rest of the snow pile, revealing Jolie's broken and half frozen body impacted into the snow. Blood had dried onto her face, arms and clothing, it looked black and sickly. He pulled her out of the ground, carefully as he discovered her wings were still attached, bent at odd angles, but still buried beneath the snow. She was heavy and awkward to carry, her limbs weren't lose like they should have been, and her wings added extra weight.  
  
He brought her back up over the ledge of the crater and laid her on the ground. Her clothing was tattered, leaving most of her skin exposed to the harsh weather. Her lips were a darker blue and her frost clung to her hair. He picked her back up and aimed his visor toward the ground. He started to melt the snow beneath her, holding her above the steam that was produced by the heat. He pulled off both of his gloves and grabbed her hands, they were frozen stiff but didn't show sever signs of frostbite yet. He breathed on them and rubbed them quickly, trying to produce some sort of heat; he then pulled his own gloves over her hands. He held his own hand against Jolie's neck, searching desperately for a pulse. He couldn't tell if it was just his own hope that convinced him there was, or if there was really a light pulse beating against his fingers. Whether it existed in his mind, or for real, the pulse was weak, and frighteningly so. He adjusted her once more in his arms and took off at a slow jog back toward the mansion.

Professor Xavier sat deep in though while the others began their search for Scott. "Jean." He called out before she could get too far away.  
  
The look of concern on his face made her run back to him quickly, "What is it Professor?"  
  
He looked at her quickly, "Take some of the team, and go retrieve Dr. McCoy from Boston University, take the jet. Do not waste any time." His tone did not suggest that there was any need to question his reasoning.  
  
"Storm!" She hollered, both in her mind and out loud. The woman with the white hair soon flew above her head.  
  
"What is it?" She asked, lowering herself to the ground.  
  
"We need to go. Come with me." Storm also asked no questions, following Jean as she sprinted into the mansion, past the large crowd of students that were still standing there baffled.  
  
Xavier turned to face some of them. "John, perhaps you could get something of a fire going in the fire place in my office?" John gave him a quick nod and headed deeper into the mansion where the walls still stood. "Kurt, could you please retrieve some firewood for John?" The dark blue man nodded quickly, twitching his tail and suddenly disappearing, leaving only the smell of sulfur behind.  
  
"Charles..." Scott's weak voice threatened to break. Xavier turned to see him half limping toward him, with Jolie cradled in his arms. "You must help her..." Xavier could see the hopelessness on Scott's face, it pained him to see someone so close to him to suffer like that.  
  
"Into my office Scott, there should be a fire, try and keep her warm. I've sent for Hank."  
  
Scott nodded and walked with new speed, as if that had been the best news he had heard in a while. He passed the curiously staring students and walked down the hall. Xavier turned to see Logan returning, someone stumbling along with him. Logan threw the frightened looking man to the ground in front of Charles. Once he caught up to the sputtering man he lifted him by the back of his neck.  
  
"I found this snooping around in the trees." Logan spat on the ground, showing his evident disgust for the whimpering man. The smaller man shivered severely, his clothes were tattered and torn, and claw like marks on his body revealed that he had met Logan before.  
  
"Bring him to my office." The professor waited for Logan to pass by the children who stared wide eyed and the man as Logan dragged him inside. "Peter?" A larger boy immediately turned his attention to the professor. "Can you see about lifting some of these walls back up, and Bobby, if you'd be so kind to seal everything up." They both nodded their answers and were already at work as Xavier passed away from them and into his office.A huge, beastlike man, hovered over Jolie's body, scratching his thick blue fur thoughtfully. He adjusted the pair of glasses over his nose and gave a defeated sigh. "I don't know what to tell you. She suffers from sever hypothermia, and the damage to her internal organs, not to mention her bones, is beyond my ability to heal. He blood pressure continues to drop, nothing short of a miracle could save her now, and it would need to be a pretty impressive miracle at that."  
  
The mood of the room darkened, the Professor shook his head sadly. Jean leaned in close to Logan, and Logan let her rest her head on his shoulder. Kurt and John both stood near where Jolie lay on the couch, wrapped tightly in a wool blanket, ready to adjust the fire if needed. Scott stood away from them all, staring blankly at Hank McCoy.  
  
Hank sighed, "I am sorry, I know that is not what you wanted to hear." The official tone of his voice changed to that of sympathy.  
  
The man Logan had captured looked up suddenly. His arms were strapped behind his back and he was crouched in the corner. "I...I think I could help..." He spoke barely above a whisper.  
  
But Hank's hearing was impeccable. "Ah, the miracle man speaks!" He walked quickly toward him frightening the man further as the blue beast descended upon him. "Well, explain yourself!" Hank took the man by the shoulders and lifted him easily; he gave him a slight shake when he said nothing. "I think I may have broken him..." He turned to the others, clearly annoyed that the man would leave them hanging like this.  
  
Logan gave a look that suggested he wasn't joking. "Oh I think I could fix him," He unleashed his claws and began to walk toward the man.  
  
"P..pen.. Pennsylvania..." he managed to stutter out seeing Logan approach. "Nickolas...he created a healing chamber...he...he put people in...and they were better...it's in our offices..." The man cringed away as Logan lifted his claws dangerously close to his neck.  
  
"You better be a good navigator bub." 


	10. Chapter 10

Jolie woke with a feeling of weightlessness. Her eyes opened to reveal clouded green surroundings. Her breathing was slow but manageable. She was underwater but she could breath.  
  
_Is this heaven?_ She asked quietly in her mind. She felt weak somehow; she didn't have the strength to move her limbs. Suddenly here eyes adjusted more clearly, and something large and blue loomed over her. She opened her mouth to scream but was suddenly choked by a mouthful of water. She coughed a few times, clearing her throat until she realized that there was a tube that was enabling her to breath.  
  
"It's good to see you awake." The large blue thing smiled and gave her the thumbs up. His voice sounded hollow and far away, it confused her. She slowly managed to float her arm further out to the side and felt a solid boundary. It felt slick like glass, maybe plastic. She must not be dead; she didn't imagine Heaven, or Hell to take place in a glass container. Perhaps Nickolas had managed to survive and brought her here.  
  
The large blue, man, monster, beast, lowered himself to the side of the container, Jolie found she was able to tilt her head sideways to meet his gaze. "I'm Dr. McCoy. You've been badly hurt. You're in a recovery tube. I think you'll have a few more days in here before you can leave." He seemed to be shouting, but it just made his voice echo louder in the tube. She tried to tell him he didn't need to yell but he didn't understand what she was saying. The doctor waved goodbye, gave her a goofy grin, and as far as she could tell, left the room.  
  
Now that she was alone, and aware that she wasn't dead; she was left with her own confused thoughts. The memories of what had just happened came rushing back to her, most of them unpleasantly. How could she have been so stupid as to not realize that the X-men were right there? They had been enemies from the start, Jolie just hadn't realized it. But at the same time, she was unsure if she had ever hated the X-men, or if that was just a thought that had been put in her mind by Nickolas. Now that he was gone, she found a new flurry of emotions coming to mind. Why would she have ever agreed to find the Scrolls? They would have killed everyone, that's not what she would have wanted. At least, she didn't think that was the kind of person she was. The thoughts running through her head made her dizzy and suddenly very tired. She closed her eyes and let a restful sleep clear her mind.  
  
Jolie's eyes opened again, no longer seeing the green water, or feeling the restrictiveness of her breath. She could feel crisp bed sheets around her, and could see the sterile white of a familiar hospital. "Ah, awake finally." She turned toward the familiar voice, this time it was louder, and wasn't echoing. She turned to see the doctor, with thick blue hair, all over his body. He wore a white lab coat and a thin pair of glasses. He held out a chart and scribbled some notes on it.  
  
Jolie slowly worked her mouth to form words. "Mc...McCoy?" She struggled more with her memory than her voice.  
  
"And you can speak. How delightful. I'm sure the professor would want to see you now." He turned quickly and walked out of the door.  
  
Jolie bit her lip nervously; she didn't know what she could say to the Professor to make him understand. She didn't want to do those things, she was forced to. But at the same time she knew it wasn't all Nickolas' doing, otherwise she would not have joined the cause. Her worries were heightened when the door opened again and Professor Xavier rolled in silently in his wheelchair. His face was stoic, and she couldn't read any emotion on it. He stopped himself directly next to her bed.  
  
Fighting back tears she fought with her tongue. "I..I'm sorry..." A few tears glided down her cheeks, so much pain and guilt filled her.  
  
Suddenly Xavier smiled, it was a warm and sincere smile. "There's no need Jolie. In the end you did the right thing. That's what counts for me." He held her hand and patted it reassuringly. "I just came to make sure you were feeling okay. Are you?"  
  
Most of here tears were gone but she continued to sniff, she nodded, unable to find her voice this time.  
  
"You gave us quite a fright. You've been out for a few weeks now. Honestly I didn't know a person could sleep that much." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Perhaps Hank, but, well he's a special kind of person."  
  
Jolie giggled slightly at the professor. He continued speaking to her, knowing she wouldn't have much to say that he didn't already know. "I wanted to formally invite you to train with us at out school. And perhaps..." He paused. "Join the X-men? I saw a powerful force that night, and I think my team could help you master that."  
  
"I would like to learn..." She nodded, gulping back the fresh flood of tears that stemmed from happiness this time.  
  
The professor smiled, "And I would love to teach. But you must get better first. And I expect you have a few visitors who'd like to speak with you." He began to wheel away, but Jolie caught his arm first.  
  
"Nickolas?" He question hung in the air for a moment; the professor looked at her sadly.  
  
"I'm afraid he is not dead. But you have weakened him so much that I doubt he will trouble us again."  
  
Jolie nodded but held his hand a little longer. "Professor?" She waited for him to look at her again. "Th...Thank you." She smiled slightly, Charles Xavier nodded in understanding and gave her hand a quick squeeze before he rolled out of the hospital doors.

AN: Alright that's the end, for now, mwahahahhaa. But anything else I do is going to be a different story. I don't want to keep this one going for ages. Anyone have any thoughts where I might go? If not, ah well, I'll figure something out :-) thanks for reading anyway...and remember what captain planet says...naw, nevermind, he was kinda a crap superhero anyway...and who hired those stupid kids? They could never get anything done for themselves...and that red head always hitting on the Russian sounding blonde chick? I mean who was that guy???


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